Chapter 14.
"Home sweet Hell." Xander muttered as he drove past that damnable 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign. He had half a mind to ram it. For some reason whenever he saw that thing it grated on his nerves beyond belief. 'It must have something to do with the fact that the Hellmouth's energies extend to that sign and not beyond.'
O'Neill sat in the passenger seat looking bored but behind that glazed look a military mind that had spent over two decades in defense of his nation was at work absorbing information from a variety of sources. Already he was forming a mental map of the town. Curious as to what the kid said O'Neill asked. "Pardon?"
"I said Home sweet Hell, cause that's what it is."
"Figured."
The drove in comfortable silence for a few more minutes before O'Neill thought up another question that needed an answer. "So where exactly are we going Harris?"
"I have a base of operations in the industrial section of town. I would have preferred to not give you guys the location or access but since the situation is getting a little out of hand it doesn't look like I have much choice. Just try not to let the NID get the information, I can snatch it out of their computers but I can't do the same to people."
"Can't promise anything, but we'll try." O'Neill replied. He could understand Harris's reluctance to reveal everything but unfortunately it seemed that circumstances were against the both of them. Most likely the NID already knew about the kids base and if they didn't they would soon have some operatives in town keeping an eye on him. "You have to know that they probably already know."
"I know, but let me keep my delusions for a few more days. I still haven't figured out what to do exactly." Xander replied.
Faith, Linda and Carter sat in the back silently listening to the exchange between the two soldiers. Major Carter was still a bit unhappy with O'Neill's apparent betrayal in his part in getting her father's commission revoked, while intellectually she understood the reasoning behind it it didn't mean she had to like it. Also General Hammond had overridden Colonel O'Neill's intentions of bringing Teal'c along with the rest of the troops to Sunnydale. It seemed that he was needed more on Nova Terra training the next group of pilots on how to operate a hyperspace capable craft than in combat against a force that could be handled by Earth weaponry easily enough.
"So are we going to get any more information on how you got all this high tech stuff?" O'Neill asked. It had been bugging him for quite some time. All the mess back at the SGC and Seth's mansion had gotten the question shoved down under the mounting pile of crap that was happening. Ferretti had been recalled and sent back to the Alpha Site, now Nova Terra, to get things back up and running. Not to mention he had to reign in a few of the capture teams who were getting a bit out of control with some of their antics off world.
Xander thought about it for a few seconds. 'I wonder how this will go over.'
Cortana who had been silent for quite some time, an event that had given Xander shivers, spoke up. Whenever she went off to do her own thing it never ended well for him, he could quite easily remember the last time she went on a little sojourn through the Internet. She had wiped out tens of thousands of Internet sites that were considered illegal by various international bylaws, namely ones dealing with certain obscene acts but the way that she had done it was the thing that scared him. She had dumped those sites databases directly into the FBI, CIA, and NSA servers. It hadn't been a pretty site. He had applauded the results of her actiosn, but the methods that she had used were the thing he had a problem with. Xander still found it funny whenever Cortana referred to the Internet as 'Hers'.
"Actually I think I can answer any tech related questions better than he can." Cortana said. Her distinctly feminine voice emanating from the tiny speakers in the MJOLNIR helmet, shocking everyone in the Humvee since they had seen Xander Harris inside the armor so they were wondering why he was now speaking like a woman.
"What the hell was that?" Faith demanded from the back seat.
"That was the pain in the ass who considers herself my better half." Xander replied. 'Show yourself Cor to the nice people before you have them thinking I have MPD.'
"That wouldn't be too far from the truth now would it." Cortana smirked as she appeared visually on the Humvee's computer screen built into the center console. "Hi."
O'Neill stared at the little female sprite on the computer screen. That nagging sense of familiarity that had been bothering him for a day and half now was now a alarm bell equivalent to a nuke going off in his head. "Alright, now enough is enough. Why the hell do I think that that armor is familiar? Where did you get it?"
"Well it all begins with a man, some blood, a devotion to an energy being and a shitload of pain." Xander began.
"That's not an answer." Carter interjected. She was curious as the next person but she had feeling she wasn't going to like the answer.
"Alright, you want the condensed version. I dressed up in this suit for Halloween but guess what? Halloween around here is considered a sleepy day, so I thought nothing bad is going to happen on Halloween. But of course fate decided to use me as her little bitch toy once again. The suit becomes real, my body is modified so that I don't even know if my genetics are the same anymore and I have now have a computer who shares my brain as part of her living space." Xander vented. Good thing that Cortana had reinforced the steering wheel to resist even his considerable strength given that he was clenching his fists tight enough to destroy any normal one.
'Xander?' Cortana questioned.
'I don't regret it, not really. You're probably the closest thing I have to a sister in my mind.' Xander replied.
Cortana was stunned into silence for a few moments, an eternity for an AI but in the end she replied with. 'Thank you, little brother.' With a smirk in her voice.
'Oh, no way am I the little brother, I'm older than you.'
'Older maybe, but I'm prettier and smarter.' She replied laughingly.
O'Neill was the one to figure it out. Something that would have shocked most of the men under his command, since he usually acted the fool around them at all times. "Harris, is that Cortana?"
"Good guess, and in the future please direct all questions like that about her to her. She may be an AI but she still has feelings like you or me." Xander answered. He was damn well going to make sure that everyone who met Cortana remembered that fact, she might be an AI but she was damn well considered a person in his mind. Also he was still searching for a cure for Rampancy, so far he hadn't been able to come up with anything that would work but hopefully in the future he'd find something that'd work.
"AI? As in Replicators?" Carter questioned. She, along with SG-1, hadn't had that many experiences with benevolent artificial intelligences and that made her kind of wary that this one would turn out to be devious as the others.
"No Carter, AI as in an AI from a computer game that I play at home. Now I want to know how exactly she is here, its just a game for crying out loud." O'Neill replied.
"What's fictional to this reality is real to another one. Quantum mechanics are a bitch ain't they?" Xander muttered. He was still having some difficulty with that same problem; neither he nor Cortana had ever managed to come up with a reasonable explanation that covered all the bases. She was of the belief that in her own reality that she truly existed and that she hadn't been 'born' when the spell by Ethan Rayne took place. In the end it didn't really matter, the spell was something that could only be done by a highly ranked disciple of Janus in good standing and only under certain conditions as well so the chances of it being accomplished again to bring other Spartans into the world were remote to infinitesimal.
"At least I went as the Master Chief and not as my second choice" Xander muttered, barely loud enough for everyone in the Humvee to hear. He hadn't planned on them hearing that but what was done was done.
"Oh and what would that choice have been pray tell?" Cortana asked curious despite herself.
"I was thinking of going as a Predator." Xander replied honestly. Thankfully Ethan's shop didn't have the needed costume or things might have been far different.
The group rode in silence for the next few minutes, each understanding that the event was something that was obviously somewhat traumatic for Xander. O'Neill was the one who finally broke the silence speaking into the radio. "Group beta, break off and head for the armory."
"Acknowledged. Breaking off now." Came the reply over the radio. As the convoy of military trucks moved through town over three quarters of the group broke formation and headed off down a side road making way to the Sunnydale National Guard Armory where they would await further instructions. The National Guard base in Sunnydale was one of the few that were stocked on a regular basis even though it wasn't an active base, someone had managed to sneak it through appropriations but since it kept half the inactive bases stocked the military didn't give a damn. The SG teams that left with the trucks would be the backup and med teams since they couldn't all be bunked at Xander's base, which created another problem for the future to fix. Expansion plans were already in the process of being created, Helljumper armor was the next on the list at least for those that Xander was planning on recruiting.
"Harris, stop the truck." O'Neill suddenly ordered.
Tapping the brakes gently, Xander brought the Humvee to a halt. The convoy pulling into position behind them. "What?"
"I think we've got something hanging from that lamp post up there and it looks like a body." Colonel O'Neill replied. He had seen far, far worse in his time spent in the Middle East but he never expected to see stuff like that in the United States.
"Shit. Faith, hand me that rifle there." Xander ordered as he uploaded Cortana back into his armor. The icy rush, painful as well, that always accompanied such an act let him know that she had settled back into place sharing his mind and his armor.
"This one?" Faith asked as she pulled the MA5B assault rifle from its case behind her seat.
"Yeah, pass up some ammo too." Xander relayed as he carefully checked the rifle over. It hadn't been properly maintained in all the rush from the battle at Seth's, to the trip to the SGC, and then the plane ride over. Remembering from John's memories that if any other Spartan had done something like that the amount of punishment that they would go through Xander mentally berated himself. 'Ha, no real Spartan would have ever leave a weapon without maintaining it properly. It goes against their very nature.'
'You're doing fine Xander, you have to remember that you have the memories and the conditioning but you never actually went through it yourself.' Cortana whispered into his mind. One of the sideeffects of the joining process of the AI to the armor also let her basically read his mind since she shared it with him. A little disconcerting at first but eventually both John and now Xander had grown used to her presence and in fact found it soothing to know that they were never alone any more.
"Colonel, care to join me?" Xander questioned. He knew the answer already but still found it common courtesy to ask anyway.
"Damn straight. What channel you on?" O'Neill replied. Grabbing a combat vest that Carter handed up, she was already strapping hers on. Linda and Faith grabbing their own weapons, Faith muttering the activation phrase for her bracelets under her breath.
"Six, relay that to the other trucks. O'Neill and I will go check it out, Carter you take the wheel. Faith, Linda stay here." Xander ordered as he activated his HUD. Noticing a yellow warning light he cursed. 'Cortana, when we get back to base we're going to have to do a full diagnostic of the fusion pack. We may have a problem.'
'Understood.' Cortana replied instantly. She had had a feeling that this problem was going to crop up sooner rather than later. The MJOLNIR suits were built to take a rough time in the field but they weren't meant to go such long periods without qualified technicians giving the suit a checkup. Hopefully the parts and equipment that she had painstakingly manufactured would be enough to get it up and running again. If not then they were screwed.
"What the hell. You don't get to give me orders." Faith began before being cut off by a shake of Linda's head.
"Stay in the car." Xander repeated.
Colonel O'Neill gave a pointed look at Carter, who nodded in reply, and took her seat behind the steering wheel as Xander got out of the Humvee.
"Harris, any particular reason why we'd find a body hanging from a street light not five minutes after getting into town?" O'Neill asked curiously. It seemed to him at least that Xander was treating this as a big deal.
"I'm not sure, most demons like to keep their kills out of the public eye, not wanting to draw any hunters attention but this could be a sign of bigger things to come." Xander replied softly. He had understated it somewhat; ever since he had taken over the top spot of protector of the Hellmouth the local demons had been very careful about leaving any bodies out in the open. For one to be actually strung up like this in plain sight it meant either someone was sending him a message or someone new was in town.
Walking the fifty feet separating the Humvee from the lamppost in question both soldiers worryingly checked the shadows between the buildings that lined the road. Each was assured in their skills and experience to keep them alive if anything untoward happened and each was increasingly curious as to whatever had done this.
"Colonel, does this seem a little too convenient to you?"
"How so?" O'Neill replied as he stared into the darkness down a nearby alleyway. He could have sworn he saw something move down there in the shadows. The early morning sunlight hadn't yet penetrated the shadows cast by the buildings.
"This is the main route from the highway back to my base, its also the most direct so if anyone was thinking of trying to intercept me they would do it around here." Xander explained.
"Yeah, it's a good ambush spot. Anything on your side?"
"Nothing." Xander answered as they finally stood underneath the body. Staring up Xander attempted to identify the nude form, it was female and blonde from what he could see. Her face was covered with a black cloth sack, but a few stray strands of hair peeked out from under the bag allowing some identification to proceed. A heavy course rope was wrapped around her neck in the standard hangman's noose, the way her body swayed in the gentle breeze confirmed the suspicion that she was dead and had been from some time.
"Alright, how do we get her down from there?"
"Easy." O'Neill replied, he pointed to the pole where the rope coiled down around it and was tied off at the bottom near waist height.
"This is too easy." Xander mentioned as he slung his assault rifle and began to gently lower the body down from the lamppost.
"It's a trap." O'Neill confirmed.
"Spring the trap or run like hell?" Xander questioned. Even as he spoke he felt Cortana leave the armor, shunting herself back into the Humvee. Trusting in her judgment he didn't say anything.
Cortana activated the sensors built into the Humvee; she too was thinking that this was a trap. Too many times had she and the Master Chief been in situations like this before. A nice juicy target left out in the open leaving them no choice but to either take it or walk away. A quick sensor burst confirmed her fears. Overriding the controls in the Humvee she accelerated to high speeds and yelled over the convoy net. "All vehicles, move, move now! The road is mined."
Even as the warning went out a figure standing in one of the deserted warehouses that dotted the road smiled and pressed a button. The figure's lips curled upward in a sinister approximation of a smile. "Die Demon."
The rearmost Humvee vanished in a ball of fire, the explosion large enough to lift it off the ground, flipping it end for end and landing it on top of the next one in line. Secondary explosions ripped it apart; the concussive force of the flaming Humvee slamming into it killed the men instantly. Already ten men, and women, had died in the opening phases of the Sunnydale attack and they hadn't even gotten a chance to see the enemy.
Using the sensors built into their Humvee Cortana was able to detect the mines that were embedded under the road. It appeared that they had been placed recently, since the road wasn't torn up and repaved it meant that they had to be in the tunnels beneath the town which allowed her to project a clear path. "All vehicles, follow me through, I have found a safe corridor. Do not deviate."
The shockwave from the explosions was enough to drive Colonel O'Neill to his knees as he held onto the corpse that had been 'rescued'. Xander stood stoically above him, using his sensors to search for any hidden booby traps around them. It would make sense for whoever put the body up there to have also rigged the ground beneath it with at least one mine.
Finding nothing he shrugged, maybe whoever it was didn't have enough or had something else planned. "Colonel, grab the body and lets go. Cortana, we could use a pickup here."
"Copy that, two seconds." Cortana replied instantly. Ordering the rest of the convoy to stay in place and not follow she reversed direction and carefully weaved between the suspected locations of the other mines. The armor that coated the exterior of the Humvee was better than anything that that United States military could produce but it did have its weaknesses and the undercarriage was unfortunately one of those areas.
The two soldiers stood under the lamppost until their transport arrived, not bothering to get into the vehicle and waste precious time Colonel O'Neill tossed the body into the open rear of the vehicle and along with Xander jumped onto the side rails. Yelling over the noise of the still burning wreck, and the ammo that was now cooking off, O'Neill ordered. "Get us out of here!"
"We're going, we're going." Cortana replied. Still overriding the manual controls which was irritating Major Carter she drove the vehicle back through the previously used path and took up the place as lead vehicle. Constantly scanning the roadway ahead of them to make sure they didn't run into any more surprises on the way back to base she activated the comm. channel to Alpha base and ordered the UV lamps to full brightness. If any vamps were hanging around hoping to get a shot at them while they were in transit they were in for a nasty surprise.
"This happen often Harris?" Colonel O'Neill questioned as he hung onto the side of the Humvee. He hadn't pulled off a maneuver like this in years; he was getting too old to be doing things like this anymore.
"Haven't run into landmines if that what's you're referring to but normally I fight at least two or three battles a night. Usually the demons around here are too weak to put up any resistance worth noting, though a few have enough magic to be a pain in the ass."
"Magic?"
"Yup."
"Damn, Carter's not going to like that."
"Suffer then. We got bigger problems, like where did some vamps get their hands on landmines." Xander said. Even as he said it he had a sinking suspicion about where the mines had come from.
"Beta group come in." O'Neill called.
"Castleman here O'Neill."
"Be advised that we have run into a mined road, repeat, the road was mined. Two Humvee's destroyed. 10 men dead."
"Copy that, road mined." Major Castleman replied. Cursing under his breath he motioned for the driver to pull off to the side of the road. "Wait one Colonel, I think we got a problem of our own out here."
Standing outside the Humvee Major Castleman, for the first in nearly a decade of service, found himself utterly speechless. The Sunnydale National Guard Armory was burning, every building was completely gutted, from where he stood he could see a half dozen bodies hanging from lampposts and any other object of sufficient height. "Colonel, this is Castleman. The Armory is burning, repeat it's burning. No civilian fire and rescue in place, and from the looks of it none are coming. This fire has been going for at least an hour or two."
"Understood. Hold one."
"Roger that, holding." Castleman replied. This mission wasn't even a day old and it was already a clusterfuck.
"Alright Harris, any ideas?"
"We can bunk them in Alpha base if your men don't mind sleeping on cots in the main construction floor. It's not designed as a barracks but it's probably the most secure location in Sunnydale right now." Xander suggested. It would seem that he had underestimated Angelus. That wouldn't happen again.
"Alright, Castleman remain in place. We're going to have to deal with the mined road first before we can get you out here." O'Neill relayed.
"Understood, awaiting instructions." Castleman replied. Both men could hear the frustration evident in the man's voice, obviously, he like the rest of them, didn't like sitting still when action could take place.
"Cortana, take us home." Xander muttered. Angelus had struck the first blow but it wasn't over yet.
The Humvee's drove silently down the roads, Cortana using the advanced sensors built into the vehicle to make sure the road was clear ahead of them as they went. None of the marines spoke, they had known friends in the vehicles that had been destroyed but now they sat stoically in the backs. They knew that they would get their chance for revenge; sooner or later the one responsible would pay dearly for their crimes.
It took just five minutes to arrive at Alpha Base, the numerous UV lights shining like a beacon in the early morning light. The bay doors were already opening, Jenny having been alerted to their arrival, and Xander could see her standing in the open doorway. Welcoming them home.
Cortana drove directly into the bay; the device that Xander had demanded to be installed clamped onto the wheels instantly and rotated the Humvee around so the front end was pointed out the doors. The speed at which it did this was nearly enough to throw O'Neill off the siderail; only his reflexes saved him from being tossed into the garage wall.
"Dammit Harris, warn a man next time."
"Sorry, keep forgetting that it's there." Xander replied sheepishly.
The other vehicles pulled into the large parking lot that surrounded the converted warehouse. Assuming that they were safe for the time being, the briefing having alerted them to the fact that the UV lamps kept vampires from entering the area they disembarked from the Humvee's and began to unload their equipment. Half the men took up covering positions while the others moved equipment into the warehouse.
"Everyone in, lets go, lets go, lets go!" Sergeant Major Gale yelled. She was newly transferred into the SGC, her family having already received clearance to begin embarkation to Nova Terra but she had volunteered to stay behind and take up this new mission. At the time it had seemed like something interesting and exiting but now it was a gigantic clusterfuck and the first day wasn't even over yet.
In record time the trucks were unloaded and the equipment inside the warehouse, as the men began to fall back in leapfrog formation Sergeant Major Gale continuously offered encouragement in the form of verbal abuse at any of them who stumbled or lagged behind for any reason. She was by god going to whip these men back into shape or kill them, which ever worked.
"That's it, last man in." Gale shouted. Even as she spoke the bay doors were already beginning to shut, glancing up at them she noticed that they weren't the flimsy sheet metal doors that one normally found at a warehouse but ones that were heavily reinforced with steel beams and armor plating on the inside. As they locked in place a half dozen cross bars slammed into position behind the door making it impossible to batter down. "Good set up."
Turning back to the troops she noticed that the command group was already walking off with the man in the strange armor. Shrugging she said. "Alright kiddies remember, we are guests in this facility so we will act like good little Marines. We are representing the United States Marine Corp, if even one of you acts like an ass I will personally force-feed you your gun. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes Sergeant!" The men chorused.
"Good, now we're going to unload the equipment and set up shop. Don't touch or break anything that isn't ours. In fact don't break anything."
"Good advice Sergeant Major." A voice said from behind her. Turning around Sgt Major Gale, USMC, saw a woman comprised of purple light standing there, actually floating would be a better description.
"Who are you?" Gale demanded.
"I am Cortana, I run this facility. If you have any questions, concerns, or requests you can bring them to me. Xander and the others are currently busy. If you'll follow me I'll show you where you can store your gear and set up some cots." Cortana said as she floated away, not even bothering to make an attempt at walking or looking more humanish. They would have to get used to the weird if they wanted to retain their sanity in Sunnydale.
"Madre De Dios" Private Lopez muttered as he fingered a cross.
"Not quite, but thanks anyway." Cortana replied as she continued to glide away.
As one the soldiers turned to face Sgt Major Gale, who just glared at them and pointed after the moving apparition. "You heard the lady, get it in gear marines."
Xander carried the body over to a worktable and gently lowered it onto the metal surface. The four SG team leaders, Faith, Linda, Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter gathered around the body. "Cortana can you scan it and see if we're going to get any nasty surprises."
"One minute, scan in progress." Came the reply. Almost instantly followed by. "Scan complete, it registers as completely normal. No weapons, biological containments, nerve agents or toxins present."
Reaching down Xander grabbed the hood and snatched it off. Almost instantly he regretted it. "Oh god, its Harmony."
Bracing himself against another nearby table Xander fought down the instinctive reaction to throw up. Whoever had done this to Harmony, and Xander had a damn good guess who had done it, had sliced her face up almost beyond the point of recognition.
"Jesus, she's just a kid." O'Neill commented. In his life he had seen acts that were just as bad, or worse, but he had never before beheld an American teenager that had suffered as badly. It had been one of the reasons why he liked coming back home to America after a mission overseas, the notion that he was returning to a land of safety and security soothing a troubled soul after a mission into Hell.
"She's just another victim in a long line." Janna Kalderash said as she joined them. "Xander, if he grabbed Harmony he did it to send you a message."
"Yeah, well I have one for him too. Time to die." Xander stated with finality. Walking over to an equipment locker he began rooting through it searching for some grenades and more ammo.
"Harris, if you go off halfcocked it'll be playing directly into his hands." O'Neill said as he moved in front of the young Spartan. He could understand the kid's need to get out there and do something but rushing off without a plan was a great way to get killed. He might not understand a vampire's motivations but he did understand standard psychological warfare from a terrorist and a vampire seemed to fit the standard model.
"Well what exactly do you suggest we do Colonel? Stand around here and wait for him to make the next move? That's just pathetic and you know it. I have a map of the tunnels; I know his style and his abilities. I say we go down there and kill every damn demon we can find until one of them tells me where he is."
"Now that sounds like a plan." Faith chimed in. all this standing around and talking was grating on her nerves, she was itching for a good throw down against some demons. Plus she wanted to try out her bracers, see what they would be like.
"Fine, we go but we wait until the rest of the convoy group gets here. Also we have to deal with those mines before we can do anything."
"Deal, Cortana take the Humvee and bring the rest of the group in. See if you can get them to deal with those mines on the way in. a few grenades rolled over their positions should be enough to get some sympathetic detonations and if that doesn't clear the road Castleman should have some other ideas to use."
"Going now." Cortana replied as she transferred herself back into the Humvee. The screech of tires alerted everyone to her leaving.
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"This is CNN Lloyd Roberts with an early breaking story. At approximately 6:00 am today one of our affiliates in Los Angeles recorded this shocking footage." The image jumped to one of several Humvee's traveling down the highway, looking impressively menacing with the armor and camouflage paint covering the vehicles. "At this time the Secretary of Defense has declined to give any statement other than 'No Comment' when asked about why the military was conducting operations in California."
"I've just been informed that we now have footage from our Eye in the Sky. This is actual live footage of a military convoy entering Los Alamos Nuclear Research Facility where we've just learned that a Presidential order has gone into effect to increase production of weapons grade uranium to an all time high that has never before been seen. Not even during the height of the Cold War were production quotas this high. This coupled with the disturbing new trend of overseas military base closures and the unprecedented recall of troops from overseas is sending an unsettling message to the American people."
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"Today the Prime Minister announced that in conjunction with the United States that British military forces would take control of all remaining United States Military bases located in the United Kingdom. The reasoning behind this sudden policy change has remained in the words of Parliament 'Classified'. This comes in the wake of an unprecedented recall to active service of SAS and SBS personnel by the current government.
Many critics of the Winston government say that this is nothing more than a desperate attempt by a leader who finds himself at the helm of a sinking ship. That this is nothing more than scare mongering."
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"A confidential source in the Pentagon speaking on the basis of confidentiality released information today about the sudden halt in production of Naval vessels currently under construction at the Norfolk Yards. After doing some research this reporter has learned that all current Naval vessels that are in mothballs are to be salvaged for materials for a classified project, at this time we have been unable to learn any detailed information about this project."
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"We've just been informed that the Sunnydale National Guard facility located directly outside the sleepy little suburb with the same name has been destroyed by an unknown terrorist group. At this time military officials have not released any information, nor has any group claimed responsibility for the attack."
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"Washington D.C., a familiar sight for many in this country, a protest march is underweigh in opposition of President Whitmore's decision to secede all United States military bases in Europe, Africa, and the Mediterranean to the host nations in which they are situated. Personnel from every base in those areas, along with equipment are being loaded onto Naval transport ships, or Air Force cargo transports and are making their way back to continental US. This decision is being touted by many as the first step in the end of the Superpower status of the United States.
Today the protest, numbering at just fewer than 50,000 according to the organizers has been unduly quiet. This might be in reaction to the unusual step that the government has taken that instead of deploying police in riot gear they have in fact deployed National Guardsmen in conjunction with Green Berets and SEALS on the steps of the capital building. The sight of these Special Forces in full combat kit has subdued the crowd sufficiently that there have been zero outbreaks of violence.
Coincidently there has been an unprecedented rise in recruitment, it is unknown at this time if the Government will be able to find the funding for the burgeoning military as more and more people show up at recruitment offices around the country.
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"In other news Iran announced its intentions to voluntarily suspend all plutonium enrichment if the United States and its Allies would fund the construction of a series of CANDU reactor facilities. At this time there has been no formal agreement reached according to sources in the White House and Pentagon but it is apparent that Canada, in concert with the Russian Federation, have tentatively agreed to the proposal and are merely waiting on the United States.
If the deal does go forward as early as February of next year the first facility will begin construction with an expected finish date of sometime in 1999."
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"Ford Motor Company has announced a general shutdown of all manufacturing plants within the United States as it attempts to retool all its factories for production of electrically based vehicles. This announcement came virtually on the heels of an embargo put into effect by the Arab oil producing countries that have stopped all crude oil shipments to the United States. It is unknown why at this time. Further information will be given as it's received."
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"In retaliation of this unwarranted embargo the United States has stopped all foreign aid to the counties involved, and in fact has demanded that those same countries repay all outstanding debts to the United States. This has caused a furor on Wall Street with the expected danger of a Stock Market crash."
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"This is CNN, we now go live to the United Nations where I've been told a historical event is taking place. In a rare post Christmas address when in fact normally many of the United Nations members would not be in attendance we have the unprecedented full house so to speak. Every single member is in attendance and the gallery is full with members of the press from at least forty nations."
The image on the screen switched to the central podium where instead of the United States representative to the august assembly stood President Whitmore himself.
"May I have your attention please? Today after much deliberation the United States hereby and effectively immediately withdraws from the United Nations unilaterally. This nation has grown tired of its ceaseless promises, and unending corruption. This august body has proven itself to be completely ineffective in upholding its mandate. All troops assigned as peacekeepers under United Nations directives will remain in place until January 1st and at which time they will withdraw and head for home.
That is all."
"Tom, we're getting some movement, it appears that the representative from the United Kingdom is standing as well. Wait, I think he's about to speak."
"In agreement with the United States, the United Kingdom hereby withdraws from the United Nations as well. That is all."
"I don't believe it Tom, I'm seeing ambassadors from a least a dozen nations speaking over each other as they tender their countries withdrawal. It appears as if the majority of them are from NATO aligned nations. I see China, the Russian Federation, Japan, Canada, United Kingdom, the United States, France, Ireland, Germany, and dozens more. Effectively most of the countries that are labeled as the Western powers are leaving, in this reporters eye this would have the effect of just gutting the United Nations capabilities. Its finished."
1010101010101010
"We've just received word that twelve National Guard divisions, along with four Regular Army division, have been activated and are currently undergoing preparations for deployment to the US-Mexico border. Individual regiments will be deployed as soon as they re-supply and all active members report for duty. This unusual event has come on the heels of a bevy of assistance from unknown hackers from around the world. The DEA has arrested a record number of Drug Lords over the past two months, and in cooperation with hundreds of police agencies around the world it appears as if though 87 percent of the current drug cartels have been for a lack of a better word shattered. Drug shipments to the United States have been intercepted in uncountable numbers, and as a result the numbers of drug related crime has been dropping nationwide.'
"Mexico has decried this fortification of the border as an illegal act by the United States, purportedly the response from President Whitmore was worded in terminology that cannot be said over the air according to FCC regulations. We leave you, the listener, to figure out what exactly was said, but in this reporters mind it probably descended into barnyard mudslinging of the highest order."
10101010101010
Xander stood silently in his armor, having only removed his helmet, as he along with the other team leaders watched the news broadcasts that were coming in from around the nation.
"Well this can't be a good sign." Xander muttered.
"What was your first clue?" O'Neill snarled. "But I want to know how the hell they got footage of the Sunnydale depot so quickly, and how come we still haven't seen any civilian fire and rescue heading out to take care of it."
"This town sucks when it comes to emergency services. If the demons don't have a few hooks into them then I'll be a purple-arsed baboons uncle." Xander replied.
"Well that'll change, Carter get on the line to search and rescue and have military services get out there and quickly. I want the area locked down and secure within two hours, no one gets in or out of that base without my or higher authorization. I don't want any more footage of it being broadcast; also when you get military services up here tell them we have two-downed Humvee's out on the road. Get them to clear them and try not to get noticed by the media."
Nodding her acceptance of the her orders Carter walked over to a table that Xander had told them had a phone for outside connections and began dialing. It would take at a minimum an hour for any help to arrive by ground from Los Angeles, but if they were quick enough off the mark they should be able to get a few units here by chopper before too long.
"Okay, what's the plan Harris?"
"Well I say we hit Willy's first, he's the local demon bar runner, not to mention he usually knows what's happening in town. We have an understanding, he provides me with information and I don't kill him."
"And that's a good thing." Linda Pryce asked. She found it unconscionable that a demon hunter like the Spartan would allow such filth to exist within his area of responsibility.
"It is for now, he knows damn well that the first time he feeds me disinformation is the day that I hunt him down like the dog he is and force-feed him to a vampire.
"Nice plan." Colonel O'Neill commented. "Okay we hit his place first, then what?"
"Then we act on his information. Angelus isn't stupid enough to sit in one place for very long, he knows that I can find him through the fact that most everyone in town is going to be ratting him out. The only problem that I can see right now is that he isn't smart enough to set up a minefield for us to drive through, someone is helping him and that makes me a little nervous. I don't have a clue as to who it could be."
"Alright then. You're in tactical command Harris since this is your bailiwick but if you don't mind some suggestions?" O'Neill started.
"By all means Colonel."
"We go after your source for some information, and after we get all we can from him, I say we take out a half dozen teams. Using coordination efforts we should be able to drive any enemy forces out into the open in the locations we want. We'll start on one side of town and drive them towards a central location, maybe one of the larger caverns. How good, and reliable, are those maps of yours?"
"Perfect, we hijacked a NSA satellite with ground penetrating radar to make them ourselves. It's updated every two days, and let me tell you that is something that is pissing off the NSA. They don't like it when someone 'borrows' their satellite's."
"Not commenting on the theft of government property, and moving on. Flamethrowers, grenades, shotguns, and basically any area effect weapon should be enough to disable a demon for a killing blow. We're going to need some information on what exactly will put them down permanently."
"We have a database set up, but most demons die when their head comes away from the body. Just like in highlander." Xander smirked.
"Damn, and I left my sword at home." A voice carried from the group of soldiers that had slowly congregated around the command group.
Turning to glare at the group, O'Neill used a will that was forged over two decades of service to keep the grin off of his face. "Alright, everyone load up for a combat run. Extra ammo, grenades, and med-kits. Silenced weapons are also going to be standard up until we get into the tunnels, so don't forget to pack them. Sergeant Major, get them ready. We deploy in twenty."
"Sir, yes sir. You heard the man kiddies, pack your gear." Gale yelled as she immediately turned and began barking out orders. Most of them were completely unnecessary since these marines were blooded, and knew what they were doing but it was semi tradition and it wouldn't do for someone to forget something cause she didn't follow tradition.
"I'll be right back." Xander stated as he disappeared into a nearby alcove that extended out from what was apparently his quarters. Janna followed after him; obviously knowing what he was doing and moving to help. The two returned a few moments later, Xander pushing a large pallet in front of him as Janna carried a large wooden crate out ahead of him.
"Alright, gather round and let Santa pass out some gifts. Everyone gets at least one from each." Xander shouted over the commotion of recent arrival of the group from the National Guard depot. With their arrival it brought the troop total up to about fifty, minus the ten that had been killed by the mines, meaning everyone was here.
"Do I want to know what you've got there?"
"The old standbys." Xander replied as he opened up the containers to reveal their contents. "Holy water in a squeeze bottle, take two, crosses and I don't care if you don't believe in God or whatever they work and you're taking them. Plus wooden stakes, one of the few guaranteed ways of killing a vamp, and for the smartass bemoaning the loss of his sword we have some blessed blades for those of you who are good with a knife."
Almost immediately there were some voices of dissent from the assembled troops to which Xander shouted. "Look I don't give a damn how good a shot you are, when it comes down to it these things may be all that stand between you and those bumped head bastards. Now unless you want to take the risk of becoming vamp food you're taking them. End of discussion, period."
There was some grumbling over the effectiveness of such primitive weapons but since Colonel O'Neill made it a direct order they had no choice but to obey. They took the offered weapons, and put them on their combat harness, using some of the black webbing to put the crosses on shoulder pads, or in an easy draw location. The blades replaced the standard knife; Xander has said that it was virtually unbreakable, so it might come in handy.
"Faith, Linda, care to join us?" Xander offered. Strangely the two woman had been unusually silent since their arrival at Alpha Base, Xander was used to the slayer always demanding to be at the forefront of any operation or hunt, or voicing her opinion on anything even if she had no idea what was going on. Hopefully this meant that the idiot gene was only pandemic in Buffy's case and not a part of the Slayer's nature.
"You're damn right boyo." Faith stated as she joined the line of soldiers picking up their anti-vampire gear, pushing her way into the line. A few of the soldiers for a moment looked like they were going to protest her involvement but after a minute they quieted down, the word had already run through them that kids as young as her were already involved in the hunting of vampires and that she was somewhat special in that case.
1010101010101010
"This is Lloyd Roberts for CNN. Happy New Years Eve to everyone that is just tuning in. Today astronomers announced that telescope observations of Venus reported a bevy of strange lights in the upper atmosphere of the planet, it is unknown what is causing them at this time. Many are putting it down to a yet unknown atmospheric reaction that is just now being discovered."
1010101010
"President Whitmore continues his adamant stance that the United States will not allow the United Nations to continue to exist within the borders of this nation. While the land the buildings exist on had been seceded to the organization years ago the facilities still require periodic maintenance, security, and in fact basic necessities to be brought in by companies based in the United States. An Executive order bars any company from actually dealing with the United Nations in any capacity unless deemed appropriate by the President himself. Currently the site sits empty, though surrounded by a group of National Guardsmen supported by Special Forces soldiers to ensure the security of the site until all nation members permanently withdraw from the building."
10101010
"Ford Motor Company announced a breakthrough deal with Toyota and General Motors, which will share the cost of retooling the manufacturing plants within the continental US over to electric based vehicles. Congress and many in the media as a sign of future cooperation between the three industrial giants lauded this landmark deal."
10101010
"The first of many National Guard divisions reported for duty along the US-Mexican border. Within hours of their arrival protestors, many of them illegal immigrants arrived to blockade them from their duties. The protesters were subsequently arrested and face deportation back to their countries of origin under a new anti-terrorism and anti-espionage law that was recently ratified by Congress and the Senate. Any persons within the borders of the United States found to be hampering the lawful authority of the duly elected government and its agencies will be treated as an agent of a foreign government. Effectively this new law strips them of their rights to protest their deportation. Many organizations, private citizens, and companies have said that this new law is long overdue. Though this reporter has learned that the ACLU is already drafting a motion for the Supreme Court to quash the law as unconstitutional."
1010101010101010
"Cover the flank!" Sgt Major Gale shouted over the sound of a dozen M-16's firing away. The tunnels just amplified the sound making it increasingly difficult to give orders, but thankfully one of her marines had seen the counter-rush of vampires and was already moving into position to provide covering fire.
"Grenade!" A private shouted as he pulled the pin and threw it down the tunnel. The explosion rocked the tunnel, pieces of debris falling down from the ceiling.
'Please lord, let the rock hold.' Gale offered up as a quick prayer. She didn't want to die because a piece of rock decided that it wanted to fall.
"Point men, move those riot shields forward. Keep up the pressure." As one the ten men in her squad stood from the crouched positions that they had been holding and slowly pressed forward. After the first week of hunting through the tunnels, someone had come up with the idea of using riot shields to keep the vampires from being able to run straight through into their midst. Instantly the effectiveness of them proved themselves in the next firefight when the vamps broke their strength trying to get through.
10101010101010
Xander, Faith, and Colonel O'Neill were at the forefront of another group when they ran across an opponent that surprised even Xander. The tentacle mass actually took up the entirety of the cavern, its prodigious bulk a multi-colored mass that appeared to be an unholy mass of flesh.
"Jesus, what is that thing?" Private Jensen cursed as he got his first glimpse of a non-humanoid demon. Even as he thought the word humanoid he shook his head. 'Been watching too much Star Trek.'
"That would be a Var'tos'ish demon, rumored to be extinct." Xander replied after checking the database. Even he had never expected to come across an opponent this size. He could only hope that they had sufficient firepower on hand to deal with it.
"That thing don't look extinct." Faith muttered. Colonel O'Neill was quick to voice his agreement.
Silently the group moved out onto the stone balcony that overlooked the cavern, the demons bulk dominated their view. "Damn, that is one ugly mother."
"And the understatement award of the year goes to you Jenkins." Private Lopez commented as he signaled for everyone to toss up some grenades. The ledge was wide enough for the entire unit to comfortably fit onto but that would leave them literally with no place to go if someone came up behind them. A fact that their Sergeant recognized immediately as he ordered most of them back into the tunnel, after they dropped off their grenades.
"Ok, Harris I hope you have something that can kill that."
"Historically, magic was the best weapon but I'm hoping mass firepower will make up for it."
"Alright, waiting on your signal then." Colonel O'Neill replied as he grabbed the first grenade that Lopez tossed up. It had been two weeks since the Sunnydale operations had begun, they hadn't managed to find this vampire Angelus yet, but they had run to stiff opposition from a dozen other demonic groups. Causalities were starting to mount, since the tunnel fighting inherently played into the demons greatest strengths. Allowing them to get in close and use their enhanced abilities.
Sgt Major Gale had been most vocal about the need for more effective weapons; something that even Harris admitted needed to be changed. So far Carter hadn't managed to come up with anything effective, she was still working on the problem though. She was trying something with magnesium tips and thermite plasma, for the big boys at least. Linda Pryce had offered to ask the Watcher's Council to see if they had any ideas, but they were deeply routed in tradition and discerned modern weaponry. But so far nothing feasible had been created, it had gotten to the point where O'Neill was really and truly thinking about asking General Hammond to send a wave of reinforcements armed with staff weapons, unwieldy though they may be they still delivered a concussive punch along with the thermal energy.
"Harris, what are you doing?" O'Neill questioned when he saw the Spartan drop the MA5B and start pulling something out of a belt pouch.
"Oh, just thought I'd send a little gift package to our friend down there. A kilo or two of C-12 should be enough for a wakeup call you think?"
"I like your style. Jenkins, bring up some C4." O'Neill ordered. The were light on demo packs but he knew that at least a few of the men always carried some with them, even though they were ordered to have left it behind.
"Yes sir" Jenkins replied, with a few deft and precise hand signals each member of the squad efficiently passed up the hoarded plastic explosives. Not without some grumbling that was silenced with a look of draconian pleasure by the Sergeant.
"Okay, a one two, or just a one?" Harris questioned. It was times like these that he wished that Cortana had come on the mission, but the desperate need for demon killer ammunition had required her to remain behind with the others at Alpha Base.
"Ours first, save yours to see what happens." O'Neill recommended as he inserted the fuse. Taking a good long look at the demon he waited until he figured he had picked what appeared to be a weak spot. Activating the remote detonator he gently tossed the package of C4 over the side.
"Fire in the hole." Xander whispered as he grabbed Faith and shoved her down into the ground behind him. Surprisingly she didn't punch him for it, the two of them had grown a bit closer after working out their differences over the past two weeks of continuous combat operations. She hadn't liked how he had assumed command back at the SGC but over time she had forgiven him and now considered him a friend.
The rest of the squad hugged some dirt, or floor, or wall depending on where they were. The explosion was massive, and the unholy scream that followed it was even worse. The banshee wail echoed off the walls threatening to deafen them all permanently as it kept going and going, showing no sign of ending.
"Dammit, didn't work. Harris you're up." Colonel O'Neill shouted as he fired his P-90 in controlled bursts over the stone ledge. The C4 had done some damage, ripping a giant hole the size of an APC into the side of the demon but considering that the demon was the size of a good-sized office building it wasn't enough.
"Fire in the hole." Xander shouted once more as he tossed a two-kilo damage pack over the lip. C-12, in the Halo reality was a very distant descendant of C4, and several centuries of continual increases in efficiency and firepower showed. The explosion, such a pitiful word, nearly collapsed the cavern completely. Stalagmites dropped from the ceiling in droves, and the banshee-esque wail that had been deafening them stopped with absurd speed.
Glancing over the edge Xander grimaced. The cavern walls, used to be a uniform stone grayish color, now they were pink with the remains of the demon. "It's dead, moving on."
"Oh goodie, what's next? A snake the size of a semi?" A corporal muttered.
"Maybe later." Faith smirked as she moved deftly through the group. The men moving out of her way, some of the smiling at the sheer chutzpah that the young teenager displayed in the sight of such demons. Over the two weeks that they had been working together the Marines had taken a rather fatherly role with her, and on her birthday a few days ago each and every single Marine had stood and sung 'Happy Birthday' to her. Horribly off key of course but the gesture was enough to make the young woman blush beet red.
1010101010101010
Former General Jacob Carter, host of Selmak, stepped into the Tok'ra council room. Rarely did a great number of them meet to discuss what on Earth would be considered mere gossip and rumor but in the wake of events that were happening across the galaxy it was required.
"Selmak, so good of you to join us?" Garshaw spoke as she took her place at the head of the table. High Councilor Per'sus was currently unavailable to attend the meeting, having to go into hiding after a Goa'uld System Lord found his latest hiding place and attacked with a force of twenty warships.
"I came as quickly as I could." Carter replied.
"We summoned you four days ago!"
"The SGC is currently heavily engaged in off world travel, I was unable to get clearance to use the gate for some time. And even when the main gate at the SGC wasn't being used the secondary and trinary gates were busy around the world."
"Three gates?" Anise questioned. It wasn't completely unheard of for a world to have two Gates, especially if one had been buried by a natural disaster but for a single world to have three operational Stargates. That was unheard of.
"Yes, three gates. The one from Giza, another from Antarctica and the third was recovered from orbit. Apparently it was found in the debris field left by the destruction of two Ha'tak class motherships that belonged to Apophis when he decided to attack.
"What are they using those Gates for?" Martouf asked.
"Apparently combat operations. As far as I was able to determine before my commission and access codes were blocked, two weeks ago mind you, they have diverted significant troops to the SGC. Two full regiments have been earmarked for deployment and that just the tip of the iceberg. The secondary gate was given to the Canadians." Seeing the confusion on many of their faces Carter explained. "Canada is another nation on Earth to the north of the United States. And apparently the third was sent to the Russians. All nations currently in the know about the Stargate program have begun massing troops and using them for full out assaults on Goa'uld worlds."
"Just how many soldiers does your former world contain?" Garshaw asked curiously.
Frowning at the phrase former world Jacob gave some serious thought to just how many professional soldiers lived on Earth. "To be honest I don't know, probably close to twenty to thirty million if you combine the various services into one group."
"So many?" Anise gasped.
"Well not all of them are very good, the United States has probably the second largest military, personnel wise, and we can call up a lot more men who are a part of the National Guard, a reserve force. Other nations like Canada, Russia, Japan, China, and United Kingdom each have their own militaries tailor fitted to their needs. China while not as technologically advanced in military terms believes in the old adage quantity has a quality all its own. It shows in the fact that they have the largest army on Earth, though they are behind due to their weapons being a few generations out of date."
"Why would your world require so many soldiers? They have no one to fight but themselves." Garshaw demanded.
"Mankind is a race that is always at war with itself, either over territory, resources, ethnicity, or ideological reasons. Oh and don't forget theological reasons thanks to the multitudes of religions. Earth is a melting pot of contradictions but so far we've managed to not nuke ourselves back to the Stone Age." Jacob Carter boasted somewhat prideful. Earth may be technologically primitive but they had their good points.
"I continue to be amazed at the barbarity of your people. They continue to fight amongst themselves while we the Tok'ra spend our strength keeping them safe, if not for our intervention your people would once again be the slaves of the System Lords." Ren'al sneered as she spoke in the double inflected voice of a Goa'uld, or Tok'ra, symbiote. For a few more minutes she continued her rant about the superiority of the Tok'ra in the fight against the Goa'uld System Lords.
"Jacob, just what are the Tau'ri doing with so many soldiers. We have received no reports of their being spotted on any worlds where we have sympathizers or agents. In fact all that we hear now is that the Tau'ri are no longer engaged in combat against the System Lords, have they finally proven their true colors and run like the cowards they are?"
Before Jacob could respond to the defense of his people, even though he had to wonder himself at what they were doing, a Tok'ra agent burst into the council room.
"Forgive my intrusion but a report just came in from one of our listening posts. Another twelve Alkesh have gone missing, the last reports have them scattered across the galaxy at various locations. We do not know who is responsible but we do have these recordings from a world belonging to Ba'al."
"Show us." Garshaw commanded imperiously.
The hologram device was placed on the table and activated. After a few short seconds it showed the decimated remains of a Goa'uld stronghold. It appeared to have been gutted from the inside.
"What happened there?"
"Unknown at this time, whoever attacked it left behind nearly no evidence of their identity. Four Alkesh, two Tel'tacs, and nearly a thousand pounds of refined weapons grade naquadah were reportedly stolen from the facility. Along with the removal of two sarcophagus', plus all Jaffa were found stripped of weapons and any technology that was not built directly into the stronghold was taken. The only clue that may lead to their identity is this." With that the Tok'ra altered the image to show a flagpole that was situated ten meters from the Stargate, it looked out of place since the Goa'uld had no need for flags. That wasn't the only thing that made it strange.
As soon as he glanced at it Jacob let out a low pained moan as he saw the standard. Almost as one every Tok'ra in the room turned to look at him. "Do you recognize the symbol that adorns the flag?"
"Yes, I do."
"What does it represent?" Garshaw demanded.
"It's the Jolly Roger flag, historically it was used by pirates. Since none of your recognized it I'm betting that the SGC has decided to no longer simply explore Goa'uld worlds its now raiding them for any usable materials and ships."
10101010101010
"Dammit!" Major Carter cursed as she tossed down a stripped down MA5B, one of the weapons that Xander Harris had let her experiment on. So far she had tried over twenty-seven variations on ballistic materials in order to find the correct combination that would create demon killer ammunition. So far none of them had worked.
"Hey, be careful with that." Cortana said as she reappeared in the Holo-tank. Currently she was busy redesigning an orbital weapons platform, something like Cairo Station, only this one had to be able to have internal reactors, shields, enhanced sensors, point defense, and dozens of other improvements over the original design. Not to mention she was trying to remove that pesky need to re-orientate the entire station to fire the SuperMAC, so far unsuccessfully.
"Sorry, this just frustrating." Carter apologized as she turned to a nearby computer station and began to type in some more mathematical formulas, attempting to see if she could come up with the required combination on her twenty-eight attempt.
"I got it!" Linda Pryce shouted as she stood up from her computer station, arms raised above her head in victory.
"What, got what?" Carter demanded.
"I have a report here on an effective demon killer bullet. A Vatican team used them before against vampires, werewolves and a dozen other demon races. Its now standard for them all. Silver ammo rounds made from a melted down blessed silver cross, apparently it's next to useless for armor penetration but since demons don't wear armor it can work until we come up with something better."
"About damn time." Cortana murmured as she shifted a few processor cycles towards acquiring a steady supply of silver. It wasn't a cheap metal and it was heavy, it was going to cost a significant amount of money to set up an ammo production line. Not to mention they had to find a priest willing to bless each and every cross. This was still going to take time to set up properly.
Janna Kalderash tossed down a heavy tome that she had been perusing, some of the books that she had were just too fragile and deadly to attempt scanning into the computer's databanks. After the whole event with Moloch there were a few books that she had gotten Xander to seal inside a cement block that was now buried underneath Alpha Base. "Now that that is done, you mind filling us in on what you've been up to lately Cortana?"
"I've been busy working out what technologies can be released as open source to avoid causing any more disruption to the world economy. Plus I've been redesigning Cairo station, a multi-million ton space fortress to make it easier to be mass produced."
"What?" Major Carter choked. "You're designing what?"
"Gather around and see." Cortana smirked as she disappeared from the holo-tank and another image took her place. The new fortress measured in at just under four miles in height, most of it devoted to the SuperMAC barrel, the rest of the station was a ring shaped platform that contained fighter bays, missile racks, point defense systems, heavy gun emplacements, quarters, power generators, and dozens of other things that were vital to the protection of a starbase. Xander had made her watch hundreds of hours of Star Trek and asked if she could incorporate some of the stuff from the show into the new design. She had considered it and added a few elements, an external dry-dock framework was currently being added to one side.
"Whoa, that's massive." Carter stated dumbly, her mind a little overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the design.
"Well from my projections, given enough prep time, Nova Terra should be able to have one of them fully built within seven months. It might eat into their warship production capability for a month or two but given how many people the Government has slated for the colony it shouldn't be too big of delay."
101010101010
Major Ferretti stared out his office window. Two retrieval teams had just reported in, one of them managing to seize yet more Alkesh for the rapidly growing space fleet of the fledgling colony, the other team having even more success by managing to grab a number of spacecraft along with a shipment of naquadah. So far they had eighty-six Alkesh as part of the defense forces, a hundred and twelve Tel'tacs, most of them equipped with cloaks, to be used in the ever growing merchant fleet making the runs between Earth and Nova Terra.
A knock at his door brought him out of his thoughts. Knowing that Astrid had already gone home for the night, something that he wished longingly to do, he sat behind his desk and barked. "Come!"
The figure that walked through the door caused him to shoot to his feet and salute. "General Hammond!"
"At ease Major."
"Yes sir. I wasn't expecting you for another three weeks sir." Ferretti began.
"Understandable, unfortunately things on Earth are coming to a head. I'm sure you've been watching the news reports that have made it out here."
"Yes sir, we're a little isolated but we still manage to get a few of the cargo ships to bring back some recordings of the news, but we're probably not getting the whole picture. We've had a few cases of 'freak outs' among the civvies, some of the psych types think it's a delayed reaction to the fact that they're no longer on Earth but its nothing that we can't handle." Ferretti said as he shuffled a few papers around on his desk. He was a little uncomfortable being the one seated behind the desk but until General Hammond took over command of the Nova Terra SGC he was in nominal command of the military forces on planet. It was weird since he was only a Major and there were at least twelve Colonels on world at any given moment. The rank structure of the SGC was a quagmire at the best of times, right now it wasn't anywhere near the best of times.
"Sir, if I may be so bold but has there been any word from Colonel O'Neill?"
"That's one of the other reasons why I'm here. Reports out of Sunnydale have been less than encouraging, less than two hours into the mission ten men were killed due to mines and the entire Sunnydale National Guard Depot was razed to the ground by forces unknown."
"General, request permission to return to Earth and join up with Colonel O'Neill." Major Ferretti said.
"Denied."
"General!" Ferretti protested.
"Denied Major and that is final. I've already authorized more troops to head out to Sunnydale along with a group of medics. A request came through, approved by the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff by the way, for Xander Harris to be given permission to store non-mission critical materials off world here at Nova Terra along with a family that is important to him. In exchange he has offered to release a wide range of advanced technology to the United States, everything from munitions, armor, starships, medicines and orbital weapons platforms. Currently he's offering more than what is needed so we're still waiting for the other shoe to drop."
"Sir, I don't understand. Any of this could have been sent by courier, why did you come yourself?"
"That's the kicker isn't it? Apparently young Mr. Harris has decided that he would like to transport his materials by ship, so I've come to get a Tel'tac to be flown on a covert mission to retrieve said materials. Also at the same time you are to prepare suitable housing for the McNally family, a simple four bedroom house would suffice if any are available."
"We have the space available, there'll be some grumbling over favoritism since a lot of people are still living in the pre-fab barracks. Construction of houses is still playing catch up, we're moving them up the priority list but we do have a shortage of people that can actually build. Carpenters, electricians, plumbers, roofers are at an all time high demand. Most of the ones that we do have are from the Army Corps and they're busy with the military projects."
"I'll see what I can do back on Earth to get you more people with the proper skill sets but until then you'll just have to make do."
"Yes sir."
"Now what is this scoreboard that I keep hearing about?" General Hammond asked with a twinkle in his eye.
'Oh Christ, how the hell did he ever hear about it.' Was all that Ferretti managed to think. "Well its like this sir, the retrieval teams are somewhat competitive, each of them always touting out how much material or ships they managed to capture or destroy. It got to the point where fistfights were starting to break out between the various teams so I had someone over in Intel assign an arbitrary numerical to each piece of known technology. The scoreboard is simply that, a tally of each team's success's in the field put up on the board for everyone to follow. In order to ensure that they don't take stupid risks we've come up with a few rules to keep everyone in check."
10101010101010
Angelus stalked through the cavern that had become his hiding place from the constant raids by the whelp. Every day brought news of yet another foray into the tunnel system that crisscrossed its way underneath the town, even when it appeared as if the meddling humans had withdrawn for the day any vampire that was stupid enough to wander into the tunnels that had been cleared found itself lucky if it got out of there without setting off any of the numerous myriad of boobytraps that were routinely left behind.
"How does he continue to live?" Angelus snarled as he shoved a fledgling vampire out of his way.
"Well he's always in that armor of his and let's face it mate you're strong but not that strong. Plus every time he's gotten close you've turned tail and run for the hills." Spike commented as he sat at a table with his feet resting on the polished surface.
"Don't irritate me William, or need I remind you of your place." Angelus said evilly as he stalked over to his irritating childe. "I can still remember all those years ago when you tried to resist me, you fought oh so hard but in the end I was still the dominate one. Care to try your luck again?"
Spike glared as his Sire, knowing damn well that he couldn't challenge Angelus openly without losing more than just the fight. He'd end up being raped by the bastard again and if there was one thing he didn't want to be it was raped by the sick fuck who just loved to inflict pain on anything that didn't bow to him. To see proof of that all he had to do was look at the young cheerleader that Angelus had brought in as a play toy. After two weeks of continuous torture and gang rapes by the dozens of vampires had joined up with them her mind was completely shattered.
Cordelia Chase lay on the cold stone floor of the cavern, her arms wrapped around her legs as she rocked gently back and forth muttering nonsense, talking to beings that only her shattered mind could see. Her eyes had been removed at the end of the third day, Angelus having grown tired of staring into the pools of hate that emanated from the spirited woman.
After that the enraged vampire had begun to inflict other wounds on her body, removing fingers, toes, stabbing her with railroad spikes through the genitals and other places. Only through the prodigious use of healing magic had the woman 'survived' this long. Though in no way could she be really considered alive, her mind was long since shattered beyond repair. Her inability to care for herself in anyway was rapidly making Angelus lose what remaining interest he had in her.